Overview

#CNNBlackmail is a Twitter hashtag used to criticize the cable television news network CNN for threatening to dox a Redditor who posted an edited video showing President Donald Trump bodyslamming the CNN logo on Reddit in early July 2017.

Background

On June 28th, 2017, Redditor HanAssholeSolo posted an edited clip from Trump’s 2007 WrestleMania appearance in which he tosses WWECEO Vince McMahon to the ground and punches him several times. In the video, the CNN logo is superimposed over McMahon’s face, accompanied by the Fake History post title “Trump takes down fake news (Colorized, 2017)”. Over the next week, the post received upwards of 9,400 points (96% upvoted) and 350 comments on /r/The_Donald.^[2] On July 2nd, President Trump retweeted the video along with the hashtags “#FraudNewsCNN” and “FNN.” Within 48 hours, the tweet received more than 564,000 likes and 339,000 retweets.

Developments

Apology

HanAssholeSolo

Andrew Kaczynski’s Investigation

On July 4th, CNN^[1] published an article by senior editor Andrew Kaczynski, who claimed he had tracked down the Reddit user who allegedly created the video and threatened to “publish his identity” if he continued to “repeat this ugly behavior on social media again.”

On July 5th, Kaczynski tweeted that Redditor HanAssholeSolo is an adult and not a teenage boy as some had reported.

Search Interest

Not available

External References

About

Is Now Playing refers to a series of snowclones that use the template of Steam notifications to comment on the subject. In this meme, the username is replaced so that the game they are “now playing” reflects something about the new user.

Origin

“Is Now Playing” is based on the notification banners from the digital gaming distribution platform Steam. On Steam, when a friend begins a game, a notification banner appears that shows their avatar and says "[Username] Is Now Playing [Name of Video Game] appears (shown below).

The earliest iteration of parody memes of this format appeared in 2016. On March 17th, 2016, vrutal user Themasteroflag uploaded a photoshopped version of the notification, replacing Donald Trump as the profile picture and username, so the the notification read “Donald Trump is now playing Papers, Please,” commenting on Trump’s immigration policy. The post (shown below) received more than 270 points and 90 comments.^[5]

Spread

On July 2nd, 2017, Twitter use @ColorsWasShit posted one of the earliest examples of these notification parodies, a photoshopped notification banner with the text “The entire population of Russia is now playing Don’t Starve Together.” In the area of the notification banner reserved for the username are the words “The entire population of Russia,” but maintaining the real game title Don’t Starve Together, making a joke about Russia’s economic issues. Within three days, the post (shown below) has received more than 800 retweets and 1,600 likes.^[1]

Shortly after, on July 3rd, this image appeared on 9Gag, where it received more than 21,000 points and 239 comments.^[4]

On July 5th, the image made its way to Reddit, when Redditor sr_michifus^[3] posted a variation of the meme, replacing the profile picture with a Venezuelan flag and the text “The entire population of Venezuela is now playing Don’t Starve Together.” The post (shown below) received more than 21,900 points (89% upvoted) and 240 comments.

The following day, Redditor googlerandomusername posted the meme to the /r/MemeEconomy subreddit. The post received more than 10,700 points (89% upvoted) and 100 comments in 13 hours.^[2]

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References

About

Dancing Hot Dog Snapchat Filter refers to a feature on photo-sharing app Snapchat in which one can add a dancing hot dog to their videos. The character later appeared in memes on Instagram and Reddit after its debut.

Origin

While it’s unclear the exact date Snapchat added the dancing hot dog filter, the earliest appearance of the hot dog on YouTube was posted on June 23rd, 2017 (shown below).

Spread

Shortly after its debut, videos featuring the dancing hot dog began appearing on Instagram and YouTube. On the former, one of the most popular videos with over 1,500 views was uploaded by samanthadreilly^[1] on June 25th and featured the hot dog dancing on her sleeping cat (shown below).

The dancing hot dog began appearing in photoshopped jokes on Instagram and Reddit roughly a week later. On July 3rd, user cryptic.mp4^[2] uploaded a parody of an Online Advertisement featuring the character, gaining 411 likes (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References

Overview

The Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest is an annual food competition held on Independence Day in Coney Island, New York. The contest has launched the competitive eating careers of Joey Chestnut, Takeru Kobayashi, Matt Stonie and more.

Background

According to legend, on July 4th, 1916, Jim, an Irish immigrant, and three friends held the first, unofficial hot dog eating contest at Nathan’s Hot Dogs in Coney Island. According to Jason Fagone’s book, Horsemen of the Esophagus: Competitive Eating and the Big Fat American Dream, Mullen argued with his friend about who was the most American, deciding that a hot dog eating contest would prove their patriotism. Mullen finished 13 Nathan’s franks in 12 minutes. The contest has been held every year since then, except for 1941 in protest of the war in Europe and in 1971, “when it was canceled as a protest to civil unrest and the reign of free love.”^[1]

However, while this has been cited by The New York Times as the founding of the contest, Nathan’s Hot Dogs has said that the company has no evidence of the contest before the 1970s.^[2]

Developments

According to Nathan’s, the first official Hot Dog Eating Contest took place on July 4th, 1972, where Jason Schechter ate 12 hot dogs to win.^[3] Throughout the 70s, Nathan’s held the event intermittently, and occasionally on other holidays, such as Memorial Day and Labor Day.^[4] However, since 1978, the contest has been held annually on the 4th of July.

In the late-90s, The Hot Dog Eating Contest exploded in popularity thanks to six-time champion Takeru Kobayashi. Kobayashi shattered records in his first contest in 2001, where he ate 50 hot dogs, doubling the previous record of 25. Additionally, he introduced various techniques to the sport, allowing participants to more hot dogs and effectively helping competitive eating and the Hot Dog Eating Contest grow in exposure. In 2007, roughly 50,000 people attended the contest.

Kobayashi left the competition in 2009, after he refused to sign an exclusive contract with Major League Eating, who sanctions the contest. However, in 2011, Kobayashi competed unoffically, by holding a private competition and beating champion Joey Chestnut’s record.^[5]

In 2011, Sonya Thomas became the first Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest for Women champion, consuming 40 hot dogs in 10 minutes. She has since won the contest four times.

Since Kobayashi has stopped competing, the running champion has been Joey Chestnut, who set a record in 2017, eating 72 hot dogs.

Notables

Matt Stonie

The 2015 champion and frequent competitor, Matt Stonie has become a popular YouTuber, recording and uploading various eating challenges. Joining YouTube on August 23rd, 2012, he has amassed more than 2.8 million subscribers and more than 546 million views as of July 2017.

Search Interest

External References

About

Worried Jay-Z refers to a GIF of rapper Jay-Z bopping his head along to music with an anxious expression on his face. The GIF has been used as a Reaction Image for situations in which one is both enjoying something and worried at the same time.

Origin

The GIF comes from a televised Coldplay concert for the BBC which Jay-Z attended. During the Coldplay song “Lovers in Japan,” the camera cut to Jay-Z in the crowd, and the footage captured became the GIF (shown below). A GIF of the moment was posted that day to Soompi^[1] by user goodvibrations.

Spread

Various Examples

Search Interest

Unavailable

External References

About

That Damn Smile refers to a series of four-panel exploitable images based a popular scene from the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why. In the meme, the first, third and fourth panels, featuring screenshots and captions from the series, always remain the same, while the second panel is a different character, subverting the sincerity of the scene.

Origin

On March 31st, 2017, Netflix released all 13 episode of the teen drama 13 Reasons Why. In episode one (video below), the character Hannah Baker sees the character Justin Foley, to whom she is attracted, and her narration says “So you see, that’s where the trouble began. That smile. That damn smile.”

The earliest example of the moment being used in a meme comes from Instagram user @joblessmarwadi. On May 25th, 2017, he posted three screenshots from the scene, replacing the shot of Justin with different man smiling.^[1] As of July 2017, the post has received more than 900 likes.

Spread

That day, the meme account Spicy Urdu Memes shared two variations of the meme. While the first (shown below, left) received more 40 reactions and one share, the second received more than 198 reactions and 300 shares.^[4]

Over the next few days, a variation of the meme (shown below), which features a screenshot from the viral video “Ye Bik Gayi Hai Gormint,” began appearing on several subreddits, including /r/IndianPeopleFacebook^[2] and /r/4panelcringe.]

On May 28th, Redditor NegativeKarmaSniifer^[6] posted the template for the meme on the /r/13ReasonsWhy subreddit. The post received mroe than 240 points (93% upvoted).

On June 13th, Instagram user batmanskwad posted a version of the meme with the character The Joker from the 2008 "Batman":memes/subcultures/batman film The Dark Knight. Within a month, the post received more than 4,200 likes.

On July 5th, Redditor Liven_Bravo^[5] posted the meme on the subreddit /r/MemeEconomy, where it received more than 140 points (43% upvoted).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References

^[1]Instagram – @joblessmarwadi’s Post

^[2]Reddit – That damned smile

^[3]Reddit – Dayum, that smile

^[4]Facebook – Spicy Urdu Memes’ Post

^[5]Reddit – New dank meme trend, BUY!

^[6]Reddit – ‘That damned smile’ meme template – I had a lot of trouble finding the template for the meme so I made it myself. Hope you guys find it useful.

WAWWAWWAWWAW is WAWsome and WAWnderful. “Well, the WAW is what gives us our power. It’s an energy WAW created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the WAWaxy together.” -WAW te ching

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW

About

If “Real People” Commercials Were Real Life is a series of web videos by the sketch comedy team Zebra Corner, comprised of Ali Shahriari and Dave Irwin. The videos feature a loudmouth, Bostonian man named “Mahk” superimposed into TV commercials to comment on the problems real people have with the ads and/or products.

History

On May 20th, 2016, Zebra Corner uploaded their first video, a parody of 1990s, TGIF-style sitcoms entitled “CANCELLEDSITCOMS– The Radical Muslim.” The video (shown below) received more than 223,000 views in 13 months.

While “CANCELLEDSITCOMS” never blossomed into a full series, for their next video, Zebra Corner produced the first of their “If X Were Real Life” videos. On September 2nd, 2016, the team uploaded “If ‘Animal Movie’ Trailers Were Real Life – Milo & Otis Special Edition.” A parody of DVD trailers, featuring special features and interviews with the crew, the video highlighted the allegations violence against animals associated with the film The Adventures of Milo and Otis.^[1] In less than a year, the video received more than 370,000 views.

Three months later, on January 5th, 2017, Zebra Corner debuted their “Real People” character, “Mahk,” who would become a staple of their most popular releases, in “If ‘Real People’ Commercials Were Real Life – Deal Dash Parody.” The video (shown below) garnered in more than 890,000 views.

Later that month, the team produced two of their most popular videos, which placed Mahk in Chevy ads (shown below, left and right, respectively). On January 19th, the team uploaded “If ‘Real People’ Commercials Were Real Life – CHEVY Emoji Ad,” which received more than 3 million views, and on February 1st, “If ’Real People” Commercials Were Real Life – CHEVY Malibu Ad," which received more than 2.3 million views.

On March 20th, 2017, AdWeek published an interview with Zebra Corner. During the interview, Irwin commented on how the team came to be.^[2] He said:

“We’ve always made fun of commercials during our weekly Sunday football games,” Shahriari says. “We kind of did our own version of Mystery Science Theater, but for commercials instead of B-movies. It wasn’t until we saw this trend of ‘real people’ commercials that it clicked. We were watching TV and a DealDash commercial came on. It was awful. The acting was horrendous, and they weren’t acting like normal people would act in that situation. So, we asked ourselves: ‘What if a brutally honest jerk was in these commercials?’ Well the commercial came back on again, and we started making funny comments to make each other laugh, except this time we wrote it down. Then I mentioned I’d been messing with a little greenscreen work recently, and that I could put Dave right into the commercial. That’s how the magic started.’”

Reception

Since launching in 2016, the Zebra Corner YouTube channel has grown to more than 220,000 subscribers.^[3]

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References

Overview

Games Done Quick

History

Online Relevance

Controversies

Notable Events

“I’d Really Prefer If You’d Be Quiet”

“Crash 2 Is Essentially Domestic Abuse”

Bonesaw577’s Jak and Daxter Run

Search Interest

External References

About

*Inhale* Okay Tumblr, We Need To Talk refers to snowclones and expoitables popular on Tumblr made in parody of one user’s webcomic in defense of creators’ right to make content some might find objectionable. In the parodies, users either follow “(Inhale) Okay Tumblr, We Need To Talk” with unrelated texts or images serving as the punchline or insert the comic into other popular exploitable templates.

Origin

On June 11th, 2017, Tumblr user vampirequeenoffan^[1] uploaded a two panel comic expressing her frustration with the criticism she had seen some creators receive for making potentially offensive content. Her rant begins “*Inhale* Okay Tumblr, We Need To Talk” (shown below). The post has received over 5,500 notes as of July 6th, 2017.

Spread

The post was criticized as people took the line about “an older character kissing a younger one” to be encouraging pedophilia,^[7] a claim vampirequeenoffan denies.^[8] Posts made in parody of the comic did not begin appearing until the beginning of July. On July 3rd, Tumblr user daggercube^[2] uploaded the first two images of the comic with the caption “*scrolls past this at inhuman speeds, breathing heavily, sweat drenching my brow*,” gaining over 19,000 notes. Popular parodies also appeared that day. vaporwavesimulator^[3] uploaded a parody that gained over 9,300 notes (shown below, left). The following day, sodapickles^[4] uploaded a parody that gained over 17,000 notes in less than 2 days (shown below, right).

The comic was turned into an exploitable at the same time as well. Two popular exploitable edits include a Loss edit posted by majesticicecream^[5] that gained over 2,000 notes (shown below, left) and a You Hear About Video Games edit posted by caesarlegion^[6] in a post, since deleted, that gained over 6,500 notes (shown below, right).

The text of the comic was also turned into a snowclone on Tumblr, as people followed “*Inhale* Okay Tumblr, We Need to Talk” with various jokes and images in text posts. These jokes were not as popular as the parodies and exploitables. On July 6th, user taxloopholes^[9] posted such a joke that gained over 500 notes in less than a day (shown below, left). mgsotacon^[10] uploaded a Viagra joke that gained over 200 notes that day as well (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References

Overview

Rob Kardashian’s Blac Chyna Revenge Porn Controversy regards the actions of reality-TV star Rob Kardashian, following the break up between him and ex-fiancee, model Blac Chyna. On July 5th, 2017, Kardashian posted nude photographs of Chyna on his Instagram and Twitter accounts without her consent, which might amount to revenge porn, a criminal offense.

Background

On July 2nd, 2017, Blac Chyna, a 29-year-old model and the ex-fiancee of reality-TV star Rob Kardashian, as well as the mother of his daughter, Dream, posted and then deleted an Instagram that read “single. i’m happy” and a caption that read, “Hello.”^[1] The post ended any speculation as to the current relationship status between Chyna and Kardashian, who have been estranged since February 2017.^[3]

Since Chyna quickly deleted the post (shown below), it was shared by the Instagram account @theshaderoom,^[2] where it garnered more than 47,000 likes.

Three days later, on July 5th, Rob Kardashian took to Instagram, where he posted a video of Chyna kissing another man, while looking into the camera. He captioned the post, “Hahahaha Chyna just sent me this video saying happy 4th of July what a crazy person. Come spend time with your daughter instead of f***ing me and then this dude right after. U need help’ Rob wrote next to the intimate clip.” Within an hour, the video had more than 2.6 million views. He would later upload the video to Twitter, where he wrote, “Today Chyna sent me a video after I just bought her 250K of jewelry and she sends me this video… of another man in our bed.” The post (shown below) received more than 56,000 retweets and 110,000 likes within 24 hours.^[4]

Today Chyna sent me a video after I just bought her 250K of jewelry and she sends me this video… of another man in our bed pic.twitter.com/3rE4luXilJ

— ROBERTKARDASHIAN (@robkardashian) July 5, 2017

Additionally, Kardashian posted photographs of Chyna before cosmetic surger, which he said he paid for, and an explicit photograph of Blac Chyna nude and tagged her in it, causing Instagram to shut down his account. He would later post the pictures to Twitter, where they were again taken down.

Developments

Shortly after Kardashian’s social media attacks began, Chyna responded in a now-deleted Snapchat (shown below), in which she accused him of physical abuse. The account @blacchynasnapchats posted the snapchats, which read “Rob u did all this but u beat me up and try act it never happen !!!!! U put hand on me I swear on god !!!!! On my kids but I’m supposed to be quiet because you’re a Kardashian.”^[5][6]

Many online have claimed that Kardashian’s posts constitute as “revenge porn,” or “nonconsensual pornography.” While not illegal throughout the United States, in California, where both Kardashian and Chyna reside, it is a criminal act to intentionally distribute intimate photos or videos of another without consent. The offense could be punishable by up to six months in jail and a up to a $1,000 fine.^[7]

However, some have contended that this might not be technically revenge porn in this case. California attorney Paul Wallin, who has worked 50 revenge-porn cases, said, “It cannot be revenge porn unless the DA can prove she [Chyna] suffered emotional distress."

Wallin continues by saying that because nude photographs of Chyna already exist online and because she “liked” the Instagram posts, proving that the posts caused her emotional distress becomes much harder.^[8]

Online Reaction

Shortly after the pictures were posted, the “Poor Dream,” a reference to Chyna and Kardashian’s daughter dream, started trending. In general, many online called Kardashian’s actions “revenge porn,” posting about how such images were illegal in the state of California (examples below).

However, others were quick to comment on Kardashian’s poor judgement in being in a relationship with her, posting gifs and pictures that expressed feigned surprise (examples below).

Media Coverage

Numerous news outlets covered the posting, reaction and legal analysis of the posts, including The Washington Post,^[7] The Hollywood Reporter,^[6] The LA Times,^[3]USA Today,^[9] Fox^[10] and more.

Search Interest

External References

About

Talk to Me Like You’re a Fucking Idiot is an exploitable webcomic by Cyanide and Happiness in which a woman asks her partner to talk to her like “a fucking idiot” during intercourse.

Origin

On February 10th, 2016, Cyanide and Happiness released

Spread

On December 15th, 2016, an edited version of the comic in which the man says “Hillary won the popular vote” was submitted to /r/The_Donald,^[2] where it gathered upwards of 2,300 points (98% upvoted) prior to being archived.

On April 6th, 2017, Redditor KarethCrestfall posted a variation claiming that “catapults are the superior siege weapon” to /r/trebuchetmemes.^[3] Within three months, the post received more than 14,400 points (90% upvoted) and 120 comments.

Search Interest

External References

About

DCCC 2018 Slogan Parodies refer to photoshops made in mockery of potential campaign slogans sent out by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for the 2018 United States midterm elections.

Origin

On July 5th, 2017, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent out an email to those subscribed to their email list asking them to vote on one of four potential slogans for the upcoming 2018 midterm elections. The choices were “Resist, Persist,” “She Persisted, We Resisted,” “Democrats 2018: I Mean Have You Seen The Other Guys?”, and “Make Congress Blue Again” (email^[1] shown below).

Spread

The email was immediately met with criticism, frustration, and mockery from left-leaning members of Twitter, who found the slogans reactionary and uninspiring.^[2] That afternoon, dozens of photoshopped edits of the campaign slogans were posted to Twitter in mockery of the feckless messages the DCCC was considering making their official slogan. For example, Twitter user @jimpjorps^[3] uploaded a slogan that read “Remember when Drumpf said Covfefe,” gaining over 340 retweets and 1,400 likes (shown below, left). @Boringstein^[4] uploaded a version that read “We’d sooner let you die before alienating our voters,” referencing many Democrats refusal to push for single-payer healthcare, and gained 439 retweets and 1,200 likes. The spread of the jokes was covered by The Daily Dot,^[2] Mediaite,^[5] Daily Caller,^[6] and more.

Various Examples

Search Interest

Unavailable

External References

About

Inspirobot is a web application that generates random inspirational image macros that are often nonsensical, dark and/or confusing for comedic effect. These images parody inspirational posters similar to Demotivational Posters, but only superficially appear to inspire, deriving humor from the absurd juxtaposition of the quotes and dynamic photography.

History

On July 24th, 2015, Norweigian sound designer and coder Peder Jørgensen registered the domain for inpisiro.me.^[1][2]

Features

Highlights

Search Interest

External References

Overview

Operation Autism Storm is a 4chan operation urging participants to spread anti-CNN image macros, videos and animated GIFs in retaliation for the news network threatening to dox a Redditor for posting a GIF of Donald Trump bodyslamming the CNN logo in early July 2017.

Background

On July 4th, CNN^[3] published an article by senior editor Andrew Kaczynski, who claimed he had tracked down the Reddit user who allegedly created a GIF tweeted by Donald Trump two days (shown below).

While the article did not reveal the Redditor’s identity, Kaczynski clearly stated that "CNN reserves the right to publish his identity” if he continued to “repeat this ugly behavior on social media again.”

On July 5th, 2017, an anonymous 4chan user posted instructions for Operation Autism Storm, urging viewers to unite with various subreddits to engage in a “meme war” with CNN by spreading anti-CNN, boycott the news network’s advertisers and discredit their journalists (shown below).

Developments

Online Reaction

That day, Redditor VisionaryPrism submitted a screenshot of the Operation Autism Storm 4chan post to /r/the_donald,^[4] where it gathered upwards of 8,900 points (95% upvoted) and 500 comments within 24 hours.

On July 6th, Redditor KaosChrysor21 submitted a photoshopped picture of a NROL-39 badge with a green Pepe the Frog octopus accompanied by the caption “Operation Autism Storm” to /r/dankmemes,^[1] where it gained more than 1,000 points (96% upvoted) and 45 comments within eight hours.

Mike Cernovich’s Protest

On July 5th, conservative journalist Mike Cernovich tweeted that a protest was planned to be held in front of Andrew Kaczynski’s home (shown below).^[2]

News Media Coverage

Search Interest

External References

About

“Ryuu ga waga teki wo kurau” is a quote uttered by the character Hanzo whenever he uses his ultimate ability and while not wearing the Okami or Lone Wolf skin in the team-based first shooter Overwatch.

Origin

Hanzo is one of the 24 playable heroes in Overwatch. Like all other heroes, Hanzo has an ultimate. His ultimate shoots out two dragons that deal damage and move forward forever until they hit the edge of the map. When he uses his ult, he yells “Ryuu ga waga teki wo kurau!”.

Spread

The first instance of this phrase being used is in a video uploaded by milkman665 on May 19th, 2016. The video uses the phrase in a scene of the movie “Brave” by Disney where Merida, the main character, shoots arrows at a target despite the wishes of her mother not wanting her to become an archer.

Notable Images

Related Memes

Maining Hanzo

“Maining Hanzo” refers to frequently selecting the Overwatch defense hero Hanzo Shimada, who is often considered a poor choice in team matches due to the level of skill required to play him effectively.

I need this to be deadpooled. I beg of you…… PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

About

The Battle of Billionaires was the name of the main staged rivalry between Donald Trump and Vince McMahon at the 23rd annual Wrestlemania pay-per-view event that took place in April 2007. While the event drew large-scale interest in its own right at the time of the original airing, numerous GIFs and video clips from the staged altercation between the two has seen a notable resurgence since Donald Trump’s nomination, and subsequent victory, in the 2016 United States presidential election.

Background

The event was organized in collaboration among several federations in professional wrestling, featuring performers from Raw, SmackDown!, and ECW brands, as a joint pay-per-view (PPV) event, which took place on April 1st, 2007 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. On July 19th, 2011, the highlights clip of the match between was uploaded by WWE to its YouTube channel.

Developments

In the months leading up to the match in April 2007, the polygonal WrestleMania event became widely discussed on professional wrestling communities, such as the official WWE website^[3], Online World of Wrestling^[2], Just Jared^[8] and Wrestling Inc.^[1], as well as numerous entertainment news sites, including IGN News^[4], TMZ^[6], FOX News^[9], USA Today^[11] and People Magazine.^[10]

Reception

Upon the premiere of Wrestlemania 23, it was met with record-breaking commercial success and generally positive reviews from the fans and critics alike. In total, Wrestlemania 23 drew an audience of 80,103 fans and approximately 1.2 million viewers at home, while grossing $5.38 million USD in ticket sales. The event set a new record for the highest WWE pay-per-view buyrate in franchise history, before it was eventually surpassed by WrestleMania XXVIII in 2012. In addition, the “Battle of the Billionaires” match was rated an 8 out of 10 stars.

2016 Presidential Campaign

During the first half of 2015, nearly a decade after the “Battle of the Billionaires” took place, various video clips and GIFs of Donald Trump’s featured appearance in WrestleMania 23 saw a notable resurgence in circulation in the news and on social media, as rumors began spreading that the reality TV star and vocal critic of Barack Obama is considering to run in the 2016 United States presidential election.

President Trump’s Anti-CNN Tweet

On June 28th, 2017, Redditor HanAssholeSolo submitted a photoshopped GIF of Trump ambushing and battering McMahon by the ringside, with a logo of CNN superimposed over the face of McMahon, to the /r/The_Donald subreddit in a post titled “Trump Takes Down Fake News (Colorized, 2017).” A few days later, on July 1st, Donald Trump tweeted the same photoshopped GIF to his personal Twitter account, accompanied by the hashtags #FraudNewsCNN and #FNN. A moment afterwards, the GIF was also shared on his official @POTUS account.

#FraudNewsCNN#FNNpic.twitter.com/WYUnHjjUjg

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 2, 2017

Search Interest

External References

About

Doomfist is a character in the multiplayer online shooter “Overwatch”: equipped with a cybernetic arm capable of performing powerful charged strikes against enemies and slamming into the ground.

Origin

On November 7th, 2014, the first cinematic trailer for Overwatch was released, in which several heroes fight over control of Doomfist’s cybernetic gauntlet (shown below).

Spread

On September 7th, 2016, the Arekkz Gaming YouTube channel released a video speculating that Doomfist may be the next playable Overwatch hero (shown below, left). On February 3rd, 2017, the Yahoo Esports YouTube channel released a video in which actor “Terry Crews”: performs a mock audition for the character (shown below, right). Within five months, the video garnered upwards of 1.2 million views and 2,100 comments.

Later that month, a player spawn point in the Numbani map was modified in Overwatch to show a the destruction left by Doomfist’s attack (shown below).

Origin Story and Developer Update

On July 6th, 2017, Blizzard released animated short for Doomfist’s origin story, which gathered upwards of 3.8 million views and 22,000 comments within 24 hours (shown below, left). Meanwhile, a developer update video introducing the character was uploaded to the PlayOverwatch YouTube channel, garnering more than 2.7 million views and 15,300 comments that day (shown below, right).

That day, Doomfist’s origin video reached the front page of /r/Overwatch,^[2] where it received upwards of 45,000 points (86% upvoted) and 5,100 comments over the next day. Meanwhile, YouTuber Muselk uploaded footage of the character playing on a Blizzard test server (shown below).

Search Interest

External References

About

Length of Recording refers to a snowclone popular on Twitter in which a person posts what appears to be two audio files of two different lengths. The snowclone usually begins with a short audio file representing the length something important is discussed. The second audio file is usually much longer than the first and represents the length a much more frivolous topic is discussed.

Origin

Using the “right triangle” and “radio button” emoji, it is possible to make what appears to be an audio player for Twitter. On September 14th, 2016, @memearchives^[1] posted a prank tweet making it appear as though Twitter had unveiled an audio tweet feature (shown below).

Spread

Various Examples

Search Interest

Unavailable

External References